Airstream has unveiled the largest expansion in the companys 88-year history. The travel trailer manufacturer is about to open a 723,000-square-foot factory in its hometown, Jackson Center, an hour northwest of Columbus, which will allow it to double its production.

Airstream, the iconic travel trailer company, is in the midst of the largest expansion in its 88 years. The company unveiled a 723,000-square-foot factory Friday in its hometown of Jackson Center, about an hour northwest of Columbus.

The $50 million factory will allow the company to more than double production of its famed silver-bullet travel trailers.

"Were upping our game quite a bit and planning for the next 40 to 50 years," Airstream Chief Executive Officer Bob Wheeler said Friday during a tour of the plant.

The expansion comes amid a slump in the recreational vehicle industry. After peaking in 2017, RV and travel trailer production has fallen two straight years and is expected to slip again next year before rebounding.

Wheeler said he "fully expects" Airstream production to grow next year, after the company moves into its new building down the street from its current plant.

Airstream produces about 85 travel trailers a week in its current factory, down from more than 100 a few years ago but beyond the 75 a week the current 230,000-square-foot factory was designed to produce. The new plant will allow production of 160 travel trailers a week.

In the current factory, Airstream shells are squeezed like silver sardines, requiring production material to be stored outside the plant and trucked in as travel trailers move down the line.

"People are working on top of one another," Wheeler said.

Despite the industrys recent slump, Airstream has enjoyed a resurgence over the past two decades. The company employs almost 1,000 in Jackson Center, up from about 200 two decades ago.

Airstreams ride is fueled by retired baby boomers and outdoorsy younger buyers drawn to its retro-hip design.

"GenXers, professionals in their 40s, are huge for us," said Lenny Razo, Airstreams vice president of sales.

Eric Davis, a veteran Airstream salesman at Haydocy Airstream and RV on Columbus West Side, has seen the demographic shift firsthand.

"From the moment we opened our doors here, we saw younger clientele; you could call them weekend warriors," Davis said. "They are attacking this lifestyle."

In the past few years, Airstream has expanded its line of smaller single-axle trailers to cater to first-time campers with caviar tastes and budgets.

Such trailers, including the Bambi, the Caravel, the Nest and the Basecamp, now account for about 25% of Airstreams production, twice what it was five years ago, said Justin Humphreys, Airstreams chief operating officer.

Airstream, which is owned by Thor Industries in Elkhart, Indiana, remains very much a luxury product. Although the average retail price of a travel trailer in North America last year was $23,188, Airstreams least expensive model, the 16-foot Basecamp, starts at $37,400, and its most expensive, the Classic, starts at $153,400.

Airstream benefits from having one of the most distinctive brands in the country, which Wheeler likens to Harley-Davidson, Coca-Cola and the Ford Mustang.

Airstream has a "unique spot in the industry," said Kevin Broom, spokesman for the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. "Its an iconic brand. That silver skin is very recognizable."

Airstreams are still made to order by hand. Each unit contains between 4,000 and 7,000 rivets, and cabinetry is custom-made in the company shop.

"Its a lot easier to buy square cabinets, but we make all our own to fit the rounded shell," Wheeler said.

Airstream will move its travel trailer production into the new factory over the holidays. About 650,000 square feet of the new building will be devoted to production. The balance will be used for executive offices, a medical clinic, a sales training center, a cafeteria and a museum featuring 14 models, including a 1937 Airstream Clipper.

In the spring, Airstream plans to move production of its motorized recreational vehicles into the former travel trailer factory, nearly quadrupling the production space. Motor homes account for 10% to 15% of Airstreams production, but the company sees opportunity in the segment in part because it has resolved the problem it had getting Mercedes chassis for the vehicles.

Although Airstream did not announce new products Friday, Wheeler said the company expects to do so once it shifts its production lines.

One product on Airstreams "wish list," said Humphreys, is a "Class A" motor home, the largest size, which Airstream hasnt produced in years.

Airstream considered building the factory in the West because 60% of its products are sold west of the Rockies, but instead it chose to "double down" in Jackson Center, Wheeler said.

The expansion, however, required at least one accommodation in the town of 1,464: a new stoplight the towns third at the factorys entrance.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

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Airstream traveling into future with largest expansion in its 88 years - The Columbus Dispatch